Symondsbury Church of England VA Primary School

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News Listing

Autumn 2017

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela

World Peace Day

The children and staff took time out yesterday to mark World Peace Day in a very special way. Accompanied by Miss Wakefield and Mr White, we sang a special song of peace that would be sung by over 1 million people all over the world. It was a very special moment as we sang in unity knowing that we were part of something much bigger. We were able to see all the schools and choirs taking part and found Symondsbury CE VA Primary School on the map which was really exciting! Follow this link to see us on the map: http://www.onedayonechoir.org/whos-singing/

Just another way to make the world a better place – number 75 on our map!

Spring Term 2017

Please click here for Pyramid Swimming Gala 26th May 2017 - Results

Class 3 Assembly

This week saw class 3 perform their Egyptian assembly in the Tithe barn and it was really lovely to see so many of you come to watch them. They all worked so hard on learning lines, remembering music notes and dance moves too, I’m sure you are as proud of them as we are!

Next Wednesday we are off to the Tutankhamun exhibition in Dorchester to get some inspiration for Thursday when you are invited to visit the children’s very own Egyptian living museum in the school hall from 1.30pm till 3.30pm.

Kwik Cricket

On Tuesday 10, children from class 3 were chosen to represent Symondsbury School at the Kwik Cricket Festival held at Colfox. They were taught key cricketing skills which they put into practice in the afternoon with a match. They showed great enthusiasm and teamwork and above all, they had fun!

Beep Beep Road Safety Day

On Wednesday the whole school took part in a Beep Beep Road Safety Day. This involved learning how to cross a road safely, the importance of wearing seatbelts, high visibility clothing at night and how to leave the school premises safely where parked cars are often obscuring the view to cross safely.

Swimming Gala

Eleven year 5 & 6 Symondsbury pupils took part in this event. It was an amazing experience for all involved. Although all the children were really nervous prior to their swim, they all swam extremely well and all felt a huge sense of achievement. Each one was displaying a huge proud smile which displayed their sense of achievement. A special mention to the year 6 girls who won both their relay races with a 20m lead.

We are very proud to say that the team spirit and encouragement shown at both events was again first class, with fantastic continued parent support.

A huge thank you to Mrs McAllister for organising and attending these events with the children.

In a week where there has been sad and shocking news in London, the children of Symondsbury School continue their plight to make the world a better place knowing that if we all do our bit, together we can do something truly extra-ordinary. As the news reports of people who helped others at Westminster palace, we had our own act of kindness this morning as Beth from Class 3 gave her Red Nose to Rafe in Class 1 who was upset as we had run out of them in the school office! This random act of kindness really is what our school and the people within it are all about, and it makes us all feel very proud to be part of our school. Luckily I had a little stash from last year so those who wanted red noses managed to get one!

Red Nose Day Fun

The children have been donning their red noses and red glasses (with some very strange looking eyebrows!) to celebrate Red Nose Day – Comic Relief. Together we have raised a total of £177.70 which will go towards the total raised around the country. Once again, everyone is doing their bit! The children also enjoyed a fun quiz with their house groups – I shall be announcing the scores at this afternoon’s celebration assembly! Well done to all for getting involved in all the fun and raising money to help a great cause!

Year 6 trip to We Day

For the third year running, we have been fortunate enough to gain tickets to attend a truly special event in Wembley Arena, London. This week, pupils in year 6 joined together with 12000 other children to watch artists such as Jesse J, The Vamps and Connor Maynard and listen to inspirational speakers such as Spencer West, Paula Abdul and Kate Winslet to name but a few! The event encourages and empowers the children to believe that they can change the world and that together we are powerful and able to make the world a better place. 2 years ago we began our ‘Change the World in 100 ways’ campaign which you will see in our reception area at School. We have a 100 piece puzzle and piece by piece we are making a difference to our world, both locally and globally. We have just reached our 70th piece of the jigsaw – see the attached list to see all that we have done.

You cannot buy tickets to We Day, you have to earn them. Through an application process, we showed all of the wonderful work that we have done. This year, Free the Children, who organise We Day events all over America and the 1 event in London each year were so impressed with all of our work, they came to our school to hold workshops with the children. They were so ‘Wowed’ by our work that we managed to get VIP tickets this year. Our aim is to get the children of Symondsbury School stood on that stage, celebrating our work and empowering others to make a change.

Well done to all who attended and my thanks to Miss Jenkin, Miss Prentice and Mrs Edney who accompanied the children on their very long day! They commented on the children’s exceptional behaviour and attitude during the whole day, as did the bus driver, who said “they were an absolute giggle and pleasure to take.”

Class 3 Dance Festival

Class 3 walked like Egyptians as they played their part in the annual Dance Festival held at Freshwater last Friday. The children worked very hard designing their own chorography in groups and they showed fabulous performance skills, great timing, wonderful characters and great teamwork. It was an absolute pleasure to watch them and they were so proud of their achievements. My thanks to Mrs Meek for all her hard work, and support to make sure the children were rehearsed and ready, and to the parents for the fab costumes!

Tag Rugby Success!

Mr White and Ed Found, one of our parent governors, went along with our tag rugby team on Saturday to play in a tournament against other schools. The team has been training each week and all their hard work paid off as they successfully gained a place at the finals in Bournemouth on 5th April. The children played extremely well and their sportsmanship was exemplary. Well done to all and thank you to Mr White and Mr Found for supporting the children in this exciting event.

Kenway Cup Match

Well done to the football team who played at Bridport Primary school this week. Once again, you did us all proud and Mr White said, “I was blown away how well the team played, we have some very talented players. Big well done to Reece playing his first ever game in goal.” The team’s next match is at Axe Valley Community College against Mrs Eccelstones and Charmouth

Class 3 are published authors!

Class 3 was extremely proud to become published authors as their news report and poem was published in the Colmers View last week! The children wrote the report following their storytelling workshop during Seasonal School work with Martin Maudsley last half term.

Here is a copy of their report and poem. Well done Class 3!

Symondsbury CE VA Primary School contribution

Children from Class 3 visited the woods in Symondsbury with local storyteller, Martin Maudsley. Martin began by telling stories and singing songs about the forest, inspiring the children to find their own trees to help tell their tales. They used their imaginations and found sticks that turned into animals; trees that transformed into giant people and the children themselves turned into daring explorers.

The children also searched for evidence of Spring and Winter, finding holly representing Christmas wreaths; snowdrops reminding us of cold weather at the beginning of Spring; and the brown curled leaves scattered all over the floor were whipped up by the wind.

The children were very intrigued by the story of King Alfred’s cakes which grew on the dead bark of trees. Martin told the children the story of how whilst daydreaming in charge of cake baking, King Alfred burnt the cook’s cakes!

The children were tasked to find the best storytelling tree. They found ivy covered trees that had their own secret doors; trees that had fallen over to create interesting monster type shapes; trees that had hairy beards with birds’ nests in them and trees that looked like bridges for tiny little elves.

What the children had to say:

Wilf said, ‘When we were sent to find the best storytelling trees, I found a fossil fairy!’

Poppy said, ‘I thought that the experience was amazing!’

Henry said, ‘Martin was amazing because he had a big imagination.’

Beth said, ‘It was really good and I liked making up stories about the trees.’

Freddie said, ‘I hope Martin comes back again – we had so much fun with him.’

Here is a poem that the whole class wrote, inspired by their storytelling in the woods.

Spring is coming

We can feel the sun beaming on our faces.

The heat is coming slowly but surely.

The snowdrops are as white as icing sugar.

See them reaching for the sun’s warm rays.

The clouds are drifting peacefully,

While the robins are chirping,

“Spring is coming! Spring is coming!”

Goodnight winter and good morning spring.

The sun and children are coming out to play,

As the springshine shines all through the day.

The breeze is humming around the naked trees,

Whilst the baby flowers are pushing through the forest floor.

Daffodils are blooming in the dazzling sun,

The eager little squirrel darts from branch to branch.

Brown damp leaves cover the trail like a carpet.

At last! Spring is finally knocking at our door!

By Class 3

Class 2 Trip to the Fleet Air Arm Museum

Class 2 enjoyed the most amazing trip to the Fleet Air Arm Museum this week. We were guided around the museum to different exhibits from the first planes to fighter jets and Concorde. The children were fascinated watching helicopters taking off and landing, learning how an aircraft took off and landed from an aircraft carrier. We also experienced what it is like being on the deck of an aircraft carrier and being flown on a helicopter with simulation. During the afternoon we took part in a work shop learning more about the Wright brothers. We got the opportunity to put together a model of the first aeroplane: two lucky children even flew in it. What a day!

World Book Day

Yesterday saw the whole school celebrate World Book Day in their pyjamas. At the end of the day the children got to choose from a selection of stories read by one of the teachers. Each child has been given a £1 book token which they can exchange for a book or put towards the cost of a book. David Walliams has written a book especially for the day. We look forward to seeing the children reading their books in school.

Class 3 – Egyptology Day

Class 3 looked wonderful in all their Egyptian finery at the end of half term as we welcomed Phil, AKA Mr Egypt, to Symondsbury. Mr Egypt spent the whole day teaching the children all about the life of an Egyptologist; sharing Egyptian artefacts and inspiring the children to want to know more! This has sparked a very special class project – watch this space for more information. Don’t forget to look out for all the pictures in our gallery on the website!

Our New Spelling Scheme

In line with new expectations for the teaching of writing and spellings, we have begun to implement a new spellings scheme that is targeted at age rather than stage. This means that we are personalising the learning for your child so that they are achieving at their individual level. We have also amended our marking policy to include more opportunities for self and peer marking as well as teacher feedback and response marking. My thanks to Miss Jenkin as our literacy co-ordinator for all her work on this and to the staff who have worked hard to ensure the very best for all children at our school.

Seasonal Schools with Martin Maudsley – Tuesday 7th February

We were lucky enough to have another visit from Martin Maudsley, a local storyteller at the end of last half term. He worked with children from classes 3 and 4 on storytelling and poetry as they identified the changes from winter to spring. This was a magical visit (if a bit soggy for Class 4) but the children came up with some wonderful ideas. Martin is promoting Seasonal Schools to Schools in Dorset and as part of this, he invited BBC Radio Solent out into the woods to see what was going on!

This week saw Reverend Jan’s last assembly with the children of Symondsbury School. She is retiring to spend more time with her family and we wish her all the love and happiness in the world. Reverend Jan has been a huge part of our school as our Parish Priest and a Governor and we thank her for all of her care and hard work for the children and staff at our school. The children presented her with Class cards and flowers and she gave us some beautiful books for the School Library and an exciting ‘project‘ for Christmas!

Panto Fun

What fun the children had at the panto yesterday – Oh yes they did! (Sorry – couldn’t resist!) The children had a wonderful time and it was lovely to see some of our old Symondsbury pupils treading the boards at the Electric Palace. Well done Ellie and Anise! The children were beautifully behaved both during the performance and on the walk down into town and showed their Symondsbury best – I’m very proud of you. Thank you to the parents who remarked on how much the children enjoyed the panto and the walk – we even had comments from members of the public who noticed how great our children were. Well done to all and thank you to Mrs Mudford and Mrs Wheeler for accompanying the children and to the staff for making it such a successful trip.

Mrs Wills

It’s a GIRL!!! What wonderful news we have had this week that Mrs Wills has had her baby girl, Florence. A big welcome to the beautiful new arrival from all of us at Symondsbury School.

Class 3 Animation Workshop

This week Class 3 has been working with the Bridport Museum on an animation project. The children have worked with professional animator, James Price, on two local historic stories: The bread riot of 1816 and the trial and hanging of 15 year old Silvester Wilson, who was accused of arson. The children have learnt the basic principles behind animation and the fact that for the 90-second film, 2500 pictures would be needed. Then they set about drawing and drawing and drawing. Luckily due to advances in technology, we didn't need to draw the full 2500 pictures to make the film. They have now been taken away to be put together for the animation. We hope to see the competed film in late March. The film itself will then be put in Bridport Museum as part of the permanent display on local history. We look forward to seeing our end result and, who knows, a BAFTA or an OSCAR?

Cross Country superstars!

Symondsbury School Cross Country Team performed with excellence during this week’s event held at Colfox School where 22 boys’ teams and 15 girls’ teams entered from the surrounding area. All of our 16 pupils displayed support and encouragement throughout the afternoon with their commitment and dedication being rewarded by Girls A team achieving first place and the Boys A gaining third place.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the parent volunteers for the continued support. We would find it very difficult to enter many events without you.

In addition to this I would like to say a huge well done and thank you to all involved and to Mrs McAllister for supporting the children with this event. An early email on Thursday morning made my day as Lucas’ mum sent me pictures of the boys before they went to the start line. She commented on their brilliant team spirit and how proud it made her. Other parents commented on the superb behaviour and attitudes of the Symondsbury team. You are all fabulous! This has to be my picture of the year so far:

Autumn Term 2016

A Cracking Christmas production

Yesterday afternoon and last night we were all treated to a fabulous Christmas production of ‘It’s a Ruff, Ruff Night in Bethlehem’ and Eype Church rang with the sound of laughter, song and huge applause as the children worked so hard to put on a fabulous show! There were tears of laughter and pride as the children performed with all their hearts. The characters that shone out really did amaze us – who would have thought the wise men were so cool?

My sincere thanks to all the staff involved but especially to Miss Jenkin and Miss Prentice who directed and organised the whole event. You are all stars! Thank you also to the parents who were so patient and understanding about issues with parking due to the great British weather. Many parents commented on the beautiful venue and how it added to the atmosphere of the nativity story. Thanks once again to the Friends for providing such delicious drinks and snacks at both performances and for the treat they organised for the children at the end.

Well done and thank you to all involved.

Singing in the Community

Last Saturday children from the choir joined Miss Wakefield and me at the Symondsbury Estate Christmas market to sing a variety of songs and carols. We certainly drew quite a crowd and there were lots of positive comments from the crowds of shoppers who felt the children’s singing really helped them get into the Christmas spirit

Christmas Artwork

We had a fabulous response to the artwork that made up our Symondsbury art gallery last Friday. It was wonderful to see the pride the children had in their own work and the positive responses they gave their peers. Mrs Edney certainly worked her magic and nurtured the children’s creative expression! Unfortunately due to a delivery problem with the fames, artwork will now be sent home next week. Many apologies for this. We raised a fantastic £322.00 which will go straight back into enrichment opportunities for the children.

Class 4 Assembly

What an amazing week Class 4 has had learning all about the Victorians topped off with a super assembly yesterday where they shared their learning with their families. I was absolutely bowled over by their singing when I caught their rehearsals. Not only can our children sing in English (and the choir sing in Latin) but they can also sing in French! For once, I was lost for words! Well done and thank you to Mrs Griggs, Mrs McAllister, Mrs Parry and Mrs Dudal for supporting enriching opportunities for learning and encouraging the children to perform and share their work so brilliantly. Well done Class 4!

Christmas Artwork Viewings

Mrs Edney has been working with all pupils in our school this week to create very special artwork as we create our very own Art Gallery at Symondsbury School. It is a wonderful opportunity for children to share their artistic skills, for Mrs Edney to inspire and support children with her own talents and for the children to be able to see their art work on display. My thanks to Miss Jenkin and Mrs Edney for organising today’s art gallery.

Class 4 Victorian Experiences

Class 4 stepped back in time this week as they experienced what life was like in a Victorian School and what life was like living ‘downstairs’ in a Victorian household. The children experienced everything from chanting times tables over and over again to polishing boots! My thanks to Mrs Griggs and the Class 4 team for giving the children such a fantastic opportunity to experience life over 100 years ago!

Class 1 Vet Visit

We had some furry friends in Class 1 this week as staff from Bredy Veterinary Centre came into school to talk about how to look after our pets. The children asked great questions and were fascinated by our visitors – especially the guinea pigs who they got to cuddle! My thanks to Mrs Wills and her team for organising this fabulous visit.

Colmers Hill Cluster Run

Congratulations to our 16 cross country runners who performed outstandingly at the Cluster run last Saturday. For the 3rd year running, our girls A team won the team event and we had individual winners for the girls’ and boys’ races. Congratulations to Loveday (2nd year running) and Alex.

A big thank you to the Friends’ for all their hard work and support on the day.

Class 2 Multi skills Festival

Class 2 enjoyed playing a range of games this week during a multi - skills festival held at Colfox School. The children got to try out a range of skills and games along with children from other local schools. Mr White and Mrs Edney were very proud of the children who behaved beautifully and threw themselves in each activity. Well done all!

Class 4 visit to Sutton Poyntz

Class 4 travelled to the Wessex Water Education Centre at Sutton Poyntz where they learned all about Dr Snow and the cause of Cholera. The children enjoyed a walk to visit the source and see how the water cycle works, as well as taking part in drama activities and being a time detective! My thanks to Mrs Griggs and Mrs McAllister for organising this opportunity to enrich the curriculum for our children.

A ‘Spotacular’ Day of fun for Children in Need

We were seeing spots today as pupils came into school dressed in spotty - themed clothes in support of Children in Need. We have also been holding a raffle where you can win your very own Pudsey and Pudsey baking set. We will announce the winners in our celebration assembly this afternoon. Thank you to everyone for their support – together, we have raised £86.05

Wessex FM School Report

James O’Neill joined us this week from the Breakfast Show on Wessex FM. He interviewed children from year 3 asking them questions about school trips and aliens! You can hear what the children had to say next week on the School Report. James also brought in stickers for all of the children as part of their ‘Be Safe Be Seen’ campaign to keep our children safe and visible on these dark mornings and evenings.

Parliament Education Service Visit

This week we invited two members of the Parliament Education Outreach Team to work with children in Classes 3 and 4. The children learnt all about Parliament and what they do including how they process bills and the role the Queen plays in it all. The children debated as opposition and Government about whether homework should be given in Primary School. Following an interesting and heated debate, the children decided that they should have homework in order to prepare them for secondary school. This was a fabulous experience for the children and an important way of looking at British values.

Class 4 Playground Leaders Training

Irene Fairley from Colfox School and 2 Year 10 pupils came into school this week to work with Class 4 and help them develop into Sports’ Leaders. This means that some of the children will organise activities for younger children in the playground each day. The children learnt how important health and safety is in organising games and how to adapt games for space, age and ability – very much like the teachers do. Well done to all the children but particularly to the 8 who will be working as playground leaders this term.

Remembrance Day Service

We were most proud of our pupils as they took part in our annual Remembrance Service this morning. The children spoke with such thoughtfulness and obviously reflected on the importance of such as day. My thanks to the staff for all the work that has taken place in classes about Remembrance. Thank you to all those who joined us. I hope you found it as moving and fitting as we did.

Our Reward card Stars!

Last year, we started a new reward scheme for our pupils, celebrating our 6 Rs – Relationships, Reflection, Reaching, Rejoicing, Respect and Responsibility. The children have been collecting reward cards issued by staff and yesterday we counted up the winners! As a reward, the winners from each year group will have a special treat with me which we will decide on together so watch this space…

The winners this term are Izzy F (Y2) Florence (Y3) Chloe (Y4) Amelia (Y5) and Holly (Y6). Well done girls!

Mark Griffiths visit – going for gold.

The children were treated to another visit by the ventriloquist Mark Griffiths on Monday who introduced them to some of his funny friends. The roars of laughter and smiles from the children showed that they enjoyed his visit but his inspirational act encouraged them to think about the kind of character traits that they have and how they can aspire to be anything they want.

The staff also had a session after school about wellbeing which was very thought- provoking!

The Fisherman’s Daughter

The children thoroughly enjoyed the production of The Fisherman’s Daughter yesterday morning and KS2 were treated to a workshop afterwards where they looked at drama skills. There was plenty of excitement and noise throughout the production. Here some of the children told us the best bits they enjoyed.

Devon: “I thought it was really good because they sang a song and I really liked it.”

Charlie: “The best bit was the seagull called Harold because he had a funny voice.”

Freddie: “I liked the workshop we had after because they told us that there are stories in everything.”

George: “They used their own music and played guitar rather than pressing buttons.”

A day of non-uniform and cake to support the children of Haiti

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the children who came into school today with their £1 donation and for all the cakes in aid of the children of Haiti. The thought and consideration that goes towards others in the world is incredible and heart-warming. Any cakes left over will be sold after school today in the playground.

A special well done and thank you to Bobby (Class 2) and his mum for coming up with the idea.

Friends Pumpkin Party

The school was full of fun and laughter yesterday as the Friends hosted their ‘Pumpkin Party’. There was a huge array of activities to keep the children amused including games such as wrapping the mummies and ‘feely boxes’ full of zombie eyes and other gory delights! There were creative crafts and cake decorating activities as well as yummy hot dogs and a disco. A huge sincere thankyou from me to all the Friends, including all the new parents who got involved. It was a magical evening for the children and we really appreciate the efforts that you all went to in order to create such a fantastic experience for the children.

Key Stage 2 Historical Court Case

This week, classes 3 and 4 were treated to yet another experience of being in the courtroom. Governor Clive came in to tell us about a local mystery involving the first head teacher of Symondsbury School, the Revd William Kennet, an Aboriginal and a kangaroo!

The first day was spent looking for clues in the school field and graveyard. Scarily, some animal bones were found buried in the school field and the children had to search the graveyard for named graves.

On Thursday, the children were in the courtroom asking questions of two witnesses – Frank Jardine and Mrs Florence Kennet, the head teacher’s wife. The jurors spent a lot of time coming to their conclusions and, rather sadly, the Revd Kennet was sent to prison.

Ines kindly came in to give us some top tips for our writing and today we are writing our accounts of the trial.

Huge thanks to all our adult helpers: Clive, Ines and Peter Hitchens and Clive’s interns in particular Isla and Tara.

Badminton Fun

This week, the children had the opportunity to try out a few badminton skills as Mr Grier came into school to work with each class. Who would have thought that using balloons would help with teaching badminton? Class 1 had great fun with them and Mr Grier was clearly impressed by their skills. He also commented on how great all the children were and was particularly impressed by year 6 – well done you. A huge thank you to Mr Grier for coming in and working with the children – you are a star!

Our fantastic pupils who are working hard to make our world a better place.

I was very proud of Bobby in Class 2 and Henry in Class 3 who approached me this week with new ideas for our 100 ways to change the world. Bobby had seen the devastation left by hurricane Matthew which affected the people in Haiti and he has already sold some of his toys to support children but also asked if we could have a cake sale to help raise more money.

Henry had found out all about collecting shoeboxes to give a little something back to children in war-torn countries such as Syria. We talked about it in assembly yesterday and lots of children agreed they wanted to help too. Watch this space for more news on that next half term…

I am so proud and humbled by the way the children look at the world around them and really do want to make a difference!

So… Next Friday, on the last day of half term, we will be holding a cake sale to raise money for the children of Haiti and we ask for any donations of cake to be brought to the school office in the morning. We will sell cakes at breaktime and after school (after the Colmer’s Hill fun run). We will also be holding a non-uniform day on that day and ask for donations of £1 towards this appeal.

My thanks to the boys for their thoughtfulness and to you for supporting them and us.

Harvest Donations

Another way that we are making the world a better place is to support local charities. The Bridport food bank was very grateful for all the food that was donated to them last week. Thank you to all who donated.

Travelling Book fair Success!

WOW! What a fantastic success the book fair was this week!!!! We have managed to raise a huge £484.80, only just missing our £500 target. Thank you to everybody who supported us with buying books. This means that we were able to buy £230 worth of new books for the school library. A big thank you to parent volunteers Naomi Cleal, Katy Tigg and Karen Cox for helping each day. A huge thanks to Miss Sherrin and Miss J for making this such a huge success. Here are some of the children holding our new books.

Class 2 Visit to Denhay Farm

Class 2 had a wonderful visit to Denhay Farm on Monday. We were able to watch cows being milked and fed, and we were also able to stroke the baby calves. A huge thank you to George Streatfeild for letting us visit and showing us around.

Class 1 Visit to the Hutchings’ Farm

Class 1 enjoyed their first trip out this week. As part of our Harvest celebrations we visited Harry's farm in Broadoak. We were lucky enough to see the calves being fed; the children were amazed that they could walk when they were so young! Not like human babies! We saw some cows being milked and learnt about how it travelled along the pipes into the big, silver tank ready to go to the shops. Last but not least, we were able to feed the chickens and collect the eggs! Many thanks to Adrian and Becky for hosting a fantastic visit that the children all enjoyed.

Harvest Celebrations

This week has seen a huge range of activities based on the theme of ‘Harvest around the World’. Class 2 made some yummy popcorn which they very kindly shared with me – yummy! Class 3 and 4 have been arty with some lovely harvest creations and Class 1 have made their own ingredients for sandwiches and headed off up to Colmers Hill to enjoy a picnic and the fabulous view from the top! Thank you to all involved in creating these fantastic learning experiences for the children.

Our Harvest festival takes place this afternoon at 2:30pm at Church. We look forward to welcoming you along to share a little snippet of what they have been up to! Thank you for all your kind donations of food that will go to the Bridport Food Bank

Forest School Sessions

My thanks to Mrs Wills for inspiring pupils in years 2,3 and 4 with Forest School sessions over the last few weeks. During collective worship, with our theme of ‘thankfulness’ the children felt it had been a real highlight in terms of their learning and the woods have become a particular favourite to work in!

Class 3 Washingpool farm visit

Washingpool is becoming a firm favourite with the staff and children at Symondsbury and this week class 3 enjoyed a day harvesting crops which they brought back to school to cook. The smell of bread wafted through the school and had everyone’s tummies rumbling! Thank you to Miss Jenkin and Mrs Meek for creating such a super experience for the children.

RE workshop at ‘The Electric Palace’

I was so proud yesterday when I accompanied Millie, Kitty, George and Alex to take part in an RE day especially organised by the Diocese of Salisbury as part of a new project with other Bridport Schools. The aim of the day was for the children to become experts in Judaism and they will take that knowledge and create a resource that all children can use. I was extremely proud of the children for the amount of knowledge that they took in and their respectful mature attitude towards the work. Well done to the four of you – now let’s see what we can teach the others and create together!

Music Concert and Workshop

We were treated today to a musical extravaganza by the most wonderful group of musicians called Impulse. They are a group of 10 students from the Purcell Music College led by Alison Cox (together with the Headteacher and other staff) who visit schools as an outreach activity. The faces of the children during the assembly concert reflected the awe and wonder of this fantastic experience. After the concert, classes 3 and 4 worked with the students in groups and then produced their own performances which were incredible. Part of this experience included finding out about diverse instruments from a harp to a flute and an accordion, in fact all manner of musical instruments. The children were buzzing with excitement and I am sure they will want to tell you all about it!

House Captains and Vice Captains

Congratulations to our new House Captains and Vice Captains who were voted for by the children in each house during our House meetings on Wednesday. Children from years 5 & 6 prepared a short speech to explain why they felt they would be the best candidate for the job. All of the children who applied showed real maturity and a sense of responsibility. The children also came up with ideas about what the role of a House captain should entail and came up with fabulous ideas such as leading a House warm up on Sports Day and giving out certificates in assembly! They would also like to make House Certificates more exciting! So watch this space…

In the meantime huge congratulations to our new House Captains:

Colmers - House Captain - Izzy Vice Captain - Jacob

Allington - House Captain - Loveday Vice Captain - Holly

Ryeberry - House Captain - Daisy Vice Captain - George

Langdon - House Captain - Alfie Vice Captain - Bailey

A Dahlicious Day at Symondsbury

There was such excitement in the playground this morning as we welcomed characters from Roald Dahl’s wonderful books to Symondsbury. I did have to do a double take when I saw the 7ft BFG come down the road! Well done and thank you to all the children, parents and staff who went to such an effort and I know they’ve had a truly magical day celebrating everything dahlicious!

Peer Mediation training for Year 6

On Monday, the Class 4 pupils completed their training as ‘peer mediators’. This included learning about using active listening skills, ‘giraffe’ language as well as strategies and procedures to deal with minor ‘falling outs’ on the playground. I am very proud of the way the pupils have worked with maturity and I am sure they will be excellent role models for the rest of our school.

Summer Term 2016

Thank You Tea Party

How lovely it was to return to school from the woods and find parents, governors and friends of Symondsbury School enjoying tea and cake out on the field. The children entertained them with singing and dancing and the children served cups of tea and delicious cakes and biscuits to all of our visitors. A huge thanks to Miss Jenkin, Mrs Parry, Mrs Meek and Class 3 for all their hard work, delicious baking and for being such wonderful hosts.

Fencing Experience

Mr Kennedy from Premier Sport came into school to give an introduction into fencing for our children. Each class learnt basic steps and techniques and which equipment is used in fencing. A very enjoyable morning.

Class 2 Piano Tuition

Pia and Christine from Step by step piano came into class 2 to give a musical experience to demonstrate some things from their music school they are running for children in the summer holidays. We had a great time learning new songs and playing instruments.

Weldmar Assembly

On Wednesday, we were joined by Diane Bentley and ‘Weld-Baaaaa’ from Weledmar Trust. They came into school especially to thank the children of Symondsbury School for supporting the Weldmar Charity and the beautiful dress of flowers they created last term. The children were very excited to meet ‘Weld-Baaaa’ (Named such as he is a sheep!) They asked some very sensible questions including why he had no shoes on… Mrs Bentley went on to tell the children that he had woken up late and couldn’t find his school shoes!

Martin the Storyteller and Stories in the Woods

The children had a fabulous day on storytelling fun yesterday as Martin the Storyteller came in to work with each class in our great outdoors. The children were using the trees as their inspiration for their own stories – truly magical!

Class 4 – Wizard of Oz

Last night the children in Class 4 took us on a magical journey down the Yellow Brick Road as they embarked on their adventure to meet the Wizard of Oz. The children performed with confidence, energy and real talent and made us all very proud. Grace Wowed the audience with her portrayal of Dorothy and Harry, Henry and Fin melted our hearts as the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion. There were fabulous performances by all and Toto the dog, played by Hermione, was a real favourite as she kept in character throughout! My sincere thanks to all staff involved in bringing together a truly magical show – one that the children will always remember and treasure.

Year 6 Leavers’ service at Salisbury Cathedral

On Monday, children from year 6 joined children from Thorners, Burton Bradstock and Powerstock as part of a Leavers’ Service that was held at Salisbury Cathedral. The children took part in drama and creative writing workshops based on the theme of ‘friendship’ as they move on to their new schools. We also took part in a special service celebrating their time at Primary School and marking this important time in the children’s lives. It was a real honour to be part of something so special and, as always, the children were a real credit to themselves, our school and their families.

Class 2 Washingpool Farm Trip

Class 2 enjoyed a lovely sunny day at Washingpool Farm this week. When I asked the children what they thought of the day, this is what they said…

‘I liked it when we planted the cress and we got to bring it home.’ (Kitty)

‘We went to see the chickens but couldn’t see any eggs. When the cat came, they were all cheeping!’ (Joliffe)

My thanks to Mr White and Mrs Edney for organising such a lovely day for the children.

Marathon and Sports Afternoon

This morning we had our KS2 marathon where the children ran from Broadoak to Symondsbury before school. The playground was buzzing with excitement as the children made their final dash to the finish. HUGE congratulations to ALL the children for giving it their absolute all during the race and to the winners:

We look forward to seeing families this afternoon as we celebrate our Sports Afternoon.

Thanks to Mr White for organising another fantastic event and to all the staff and parents who ran with the children – simply brilliant!

Class 2 Assembly

Class 2 treated children and parents with an assembly celebrating their topic of ‘Famous Explorers’. We met Christopher Columbus, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Lightyear(!) Oh but that was the wrong Buzz of course! Well done to all the children and thank you for celebrating your work with us. I know that class assemblies take lots of work but it is a wonderful way to share and celebrate children’s work. Thank you to Mr White and Mrs Edney for all their hard work too.

Youth Speaks – Well done to Izzy, Daisy and Loveday

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching Izzy, Daisy and Loveday take part in a Youth Speaks event with 3 other Bridport schools. The event encourages children to develop as public speakers and deal with controversial issues through formal debate. The girls spoke with confidence, clarity and warmth about the question, ‘Should we let 3000 child refugees into our homes?’ Well done to all three, for your wonderful contribution to the evening – you made us very proud.

Summer Fair Success!

Huge congratulations to The Friends’ of Symondsbury School and all involved in our wonderful Summer Fair last weekend. Many people commented on the lovely atmosphere as families came together to enjoy some family fun and entertainment and helping to raise over £1300 for our school!

Class 1 Trip to Bridport Fire Station.

Class 1 enjoyed an exciting trip to the Fire Station on Monday and had the opportunity to ask some fantastic questions that they had come up with. They asked things like, ‘Do you live at the Fire Station?’ ‘Do you have a pole?’ and ‘Why do you wear black and yellow?’ Well done to the children for being so brilliant and thank you to Mrs Wills, Miss Prentice and Miss Smith for organising such a special visit to end their topic. As your new topic is ‘Space’ I wonder where that might take you.

Class 3 Go-Kart building excitement!

Go-Karts – A massive thank you to Clive Stafford-Smith and Matt Smith who came into Class 3 to build go-karts with the children. They had an excellent time building three working sized go-karts that they will race next Wednesday. We also made and raced junk model go-karts and wrote a story about the experience.

Class 1 Assembly

Class 1 took us on a wonderful ‘Bear Hunt’ as part of their class assembly on Wednesday. They took us through parks, past dinosaurs and through London to mention just a few. It was wonderful to see the children’s confidence and how they have developed and grown this year. Well done Class 1, Mrs Wills, Miss Prentice and Miss Smith – What a wonderful lot!

Class 4 Gospel Choir Experience

It was an absolute pleasure to be able to watch the children in class 4 sing as part of a special workshop alongside other Bridport schools and the ACM Gospel Choir from London this week. The children had learnt 3 songs in 3 different parts and performed together with other schools. I must admit, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I was so proud of them all. My thanks to Mrs Griggs and Mrs McAllister for organising such a fantastic experience for the children.

Year 5 – Sailing Adventures

Year 5 enjoyed a ‘trip on the high seas’ (well… a little trip around Portland harbour!) on Monday as part of our outdoor adventure part of the curriculum. The children had a great day and most of them managed to stay relatively dry!

Hattie said, ‘Our instructors were called Alex, Jules and Nicola. They taught us how to control the boat. To go slow, you had to pull a rope to get the sail in and to steer, there was a little fin looking thing with a stick that you had to use to control it with.’

Holly said, ‘We had loads of fun. Only Hattie fell in but lots of us were close to capsizing! We all really enjoyed it!’

Our Storytelling Fun with Martin Maudsley

The laughter rang through Symondsbury yesterday as we were joined by Martin Maudsley, a local storyteller, and he enthralled the children in each class with tales and song. The children were completely engrossed in his dynamic performances and children and staff bounced out of his assembly at the end of the day. Martin is coming back into Symondsbury next month for another storytelling extravaganza and will be using our beautiful surroundings to engage and inspire our children.

Book Sale Success!

A huge thank you and congratulations to Lauren, Kitty and Sophia from class 2 and Alex and Felix from class 4 who organised and ran our book sale at the end of last half term. Thank you also to all who came along to support us as we raised money for ‘Under tree Schools’ and our new school library. We managed to raise a huge £165.00 including proceeds from our non-uniform day! Well done everyone!

Green Flag Assessment

As you may know, Mr Haley and the staff have achieved Eco-Schools Bronze and Silver Awards over the past few years. Recently we have applied for the prestigious ‘Green Flag’ award from Eco-Schools. This award covers 9 topics including transport, waste, water, litter, school grounds, healthy living, energy, biodiversity and global citizenship.

As part of our assessment, yesterday, we received a visit from an eco-assessor who came in to see the work we have been doing at school. This assessment lasted 2 hours and included a brilliant eco-expedition led by Daniel, Millie A, George, Harry M, Daisy S and Ellie who were able to answer lots of questions with confidence and enthusiasm – they made me extremely proud!

As a result we have been awarded our Green Flag award! We will receive a formal report in the next few weeks and our very own Green Flag!!

A huge thank you to everyone involved in everything that we do at Symondsbury, from the fabulous parents who give up their time to help at gardening club, to everyone who supports our 100 ways to change the world.

Happy 90th Birthday your Majesty.

Today we have been having a ‘royal’ good time as we have been helping celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. We have been busy making crowns and enjoyed playing party games with all the staff. We have planned a street party style tea party this afternoon (weather permitting) and are hoping to tune in with other schools around the country in a live broadcast from Windsor Castle!

The children look lovely in their read, white and blue – a super way to mark such as special day.

Class 4 trip to Okehampton

Class 4 had an amazing week on their residential trip to Okehampton. It was an exciting week for the children where they took part in a variety of activities, such as, team building, bush craft, night walk, canoeing, kayaking, raft building, cycling, rock climbing, gorge scrambling, archery and high ropes. They all returned to school exhausted but were still smiling and full of chatter.

Fin said “it was a busy and exciting 5 days we did lots of thrilling activities and we were exhausted when we got home”.

Loveday said “we had an amazing time and we took part in lots of activities, we returned exhausted but just kept smiling”.

Class 4 Assembly

Yesterday Class 4 treated us to a little insight into their learning as they presented their class assembly on the Romans. My thanks to Mrs Griggs and Mrs McAllister for their work with the children and to the parents who have supported the children at home with their fabulous shields!

Gardening Club

As you will have seen Gardening Club have been very busy. Our vegetable beds are now up and running, a big Thank you to Matthew Smith for building them for us. The wildlife pond has been finished and looks great a big Thank you to Miss Jenkins dad for building the fence to keep it safe. More plants will be added to the area over the coming weeks using the grant from Wessex Water. Thank you Gardening Club for all your work.

Forest School in Class 1

If you have a look on our website gallery, you will find an array of pictures where pupils from Class 1 have been enjoying Forest School activities. What a wonderful way for them to enjoy our beautiful surroundings and celebrate the great outdoors! The children always come back with stories and things they have made. My thanks to Mrs Wills, Miss Prentice and Miss Smith for their energy and enthusiasm in leading these exciting sessions.

RNLI Lifeguard Workshops

We were joined by members of the RNLI Lifeguard team who came in to talk to the children about beach safety. We are incredibly lucky to live by the sea but their messages made it clear that, although we can have fun, we need to stay safe! The children were brilliant and enjoyed the workshops!

Class 3 Residential to Hooke Court

The children of Class 3 spent two days at Hooke Court on a residential with an Anglo Saxon theme. The children were fantastic and had a great time. Not once did they complain about the weather; we had four seasons in one day!! It rained, snowed, hailed, blew a gale and we basked in the sunshine. They proved that they are a great team and a credit to us all.

On day one we learnt to weave, write our name in Anglo Saxon runes, make clay jewellery, cook Anglo Saxon food and build a wattle and daub fence! After dinner, a 21st century dinner, we had an Anglo Saxon saga around the camp fire with the very Saxon delicacy of toasted marshmallows. At the end of the evening we went back to the house and had hot chocolate and everyone was asleep by 10.30!! Miss. J, Mrs. Meek and Mrs. Parry were very impressed.

Day two was Tribal Kingdom day! After sorting out our rooms and a hearty breakfast, we walked to Hooke Wood to become two tribes. Here we learnt to build a den and form our own community. After lunch we decorated our faces or hands for a tribal chant to keep other tribes away. This was followed by a scavenger hunt, treasure hunt and tribe game before home time.

Attendance Award

Congratulations to Class 4 for winning the attendance treat for last term!

Class 1 had a wonderful day in the sunshine at Washingpool Farm. We fed the animals and learnt about how they need food, water and shelter. The poly-tunnels were full of plants growing and again, we found out what they needed to grow. We planted our own salad boxes, which we brought back to school and are eagerly awaiting the appearance of shoots! We also enjoyed a walk around the lake where we spotted goslings, baby lambs, fish and even a turtle! Many thanks to Vicky at Washingpool Farm for hosting us.

Congratulations to our Big Swing Golf Winners!

What a joy it was when Jacob came excitedly into school brandishing the Big Swing Winners’ Cup! The children took part in the Tri Golf Dorset Schools Competition as part of the Sainsbury’s Dorset School Games. My thanks to Mrs McAllister for organising and attending this great event with the children and also to Jo Lambert who accompanied the children. Mrs McAllister was very proud of the children and commented that, ‘They kept their heads under pressure, demonstrated outstanding teamwork and were rewarded by being the overall winner!’ About 25 schools from Weymouth, Lyme Regis and other local areas attended and competed in the event. A HUGE WELL DONE to: Rosa, Bobby, Millie, Bailey, Emily, Kitty, Amelia, Rowan, Zac and Jacob!

Friends Easter Egg Hunt

Despite the appearance of Storm Katie, the annual Colmers Hill Egg hunt went ahead. We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came and supported us in the driving wind and rain. At present we do not know the final figures but we have still managed to make a decent profit which will go towards buying new books for the school library.

Spring Term 2016

Easter Art and our Easter Journey

Children worked alongside our artist in residence, Sue Warren, to create an artistic version of the Easter story. The children drew and painted 6 elements of the story, creating some very impressive work. This work was then displayed along with 6 specially designed ‘stations’ that tell this amazing story. There was an additional station for key stage 2 about the trial which has been specially designed by Clive Stafford-Smith. The Governors of Symondsbury School and Rev Jan created these special pieces which allowed the children to reflect, discuss and understand the story in a very unique way.

The children’s workshops took place on Monday and Tuesday morning of our last week of term, led by the Governors. For those who wanted to experience this journey for themselves, then Church was open as usual for members of our community to experience the Easter journey for themselves.

My sincere thank you to all the Governors who were involved in designing and preparing these very special places for our pupils. The Church looked simply stunning!

The Easter journey was the basis of our Easter service and we also performed the sermon as part of the Easter Sunday service.

Football Stars

Well done to all the children who represented the school in the Kenway Cup this year. You played really well and we are so proud of you. A special well done to Vicky who scored this Monday against Burton Bradstock. Well done to Henry J, Harry J, Bailey, Zac, Diesel, Oli, Vicky, Jacob, Charlie, and Thomas. An extra well done to Mr White for all his hard work organising, refereeing and transporting the children to games – you are a star!

Our Fantastic Runners

Our runners endured a gruelling final cross country event of the year with a relay event at Colfox. We took 4 teams, with two boys and two girls in each team. This was particularly tricky, not only for the distance of 1600m they each had to run but also making sure they followed the right directions on the course. We came 2nd in both the ‘A’ cup and ‘B’ cup. Well done to Anise, Loveday, Alex, Bailey, Rosa, Grace, Harry J, Henry J, Diesel, Daisy, Izzy, Zac, Ellie, Mollie, Joe, Freddie. They have more than done the school proud this year.

Class 3 trip to Washingpool Farm

Class 3 spent the day at Washingpool Farm. It was a bright but chilly day. We learnt about the process of how plants were grown on the farm to sell in the shop. Then we got to sow our own seeds to make a salad box for each table to take back to school. We had a tour of the farm and met all the animals that were there and learnt how they are reared on the farm to produce food. After lunch and a play in the park, we went down to the lake to do some sketching. A great time was had.

Peripatetic Music Concert

Well done to all children who took part in our special peripatetic concert yesterday. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the children glow with pride and confidence. The choir was brilliant and had us all toe tapping with their lively numbers and the ukuleles were entertaining and just brilliant! What a talented lot you are! A special mention has to go out to the talented soloists who played their instruments: Loveday, Izzy, Alex, Freddie, Isobel and Vicky. A huge thank you to Freddie who taught Isobel how to play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ on the day and to Isobel for being so brave and doing something completely new – you inspire me! Vicky – you made my year! Huge thanks to Mrs Bell for leading the choir and to Mrs Meek who led the ukuleles so brilliantly! You are all stars!

Gardening Club

A message from George and Harry M from Gardening Club

“Thank you for buying and donating to our gardening cake sale. We raised £67.45!! We used this kindly donated money to buy a wheelbarrow and watering cans. Thank you”

We Day!

On 9th March, year 6 pupils from Symondsbury were lucky enough to take part along with 12,000 other pupils in We Day held at Wembley Arena in London. As part of our work as a rights respecting school and global citizenship we were given the exciting opportunity of taking part in an event called ‘We Day’. This is an educational event that celebrates young people who lead local and global change. We Day is tied to the year-long ‘We Act’ programme, which offers opportunities to help turn the day’s inspiration into sustained activation.

Last year our pupils were inspired to change the world in 100 ways and following their visit to We Day this year, the children have many more ideas about how they can continue this wonderful work.

The theme of We Day was to take the journey from Me to We, thinking about where our imagination might take us, thinking outside the box and asking the big questions such as ‘What if?’ Together, we can inspire communities, peers, families and teachers to make our world a better place. The children heard from Professor Brian Cox who told them about the importance of this Earth of ours – although it may only be a little blue dot from millions of miles away, it is our Earth and we should treasure it.

The children heard from Kate Winslet, the actress, who told them that whatever you look like, you are unique and special – empowering the children not to worry about body image. They also heard from Mark Pollock who was the first person to use robotic legs following a fall and he lost the ability to walk. Mark inspired the children with the idea that the things that challenge us make us stronger!

As well as many other incredibly inspirational speakers, the children heard from artists such as Rita Ora, Labyrinth and Fleur East who had us all dancing in the aisles!

This is what our pupils thought:

Grace said: ‘My most inspirational person was Spencer west because he climbed up Mount Kilimanjaro even though he has no legs. It was an amazing experience! Thank you to all the teachers.

Fin said: ‘I am really excited that I got the chance to go to We Day. I also learned a lot of really new things.

Kitti said: ‘I really enjoyed seeing all the famous people at We Day! I am super grateful I got the chance!!!

Ellie said: ‘The person that inspired me the most was Spencer West because when he was younger he was told that he would not be able to do the things by the doctor but he didn’t listen. He has now climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. We Day was an amazing experience.

We did have rather an interesting journey back and took slight detours but (even with my map reading!) we managed to get back on track! My thanks once again to all the parents for their understanding and patience!

The children were the truly inspirational ones – they behaved impeccably, they took on board all that they heard and saw and were truly touched and impacted by this very special experience. Well done and thank you to all of you.

Finally, a massive thanks to Mrs Meek and Mrs Edney who brought so much laughter to the day, my sides still hurt. Ladies, your care and thought for those pupils on the long journey was wonderful and your infectious energy and enthusiasm kept us all going thoughout the day – thank you!

Class 3 Assembly

How lovely it was to be over at the Symondsbury Estate barn to see the first of this year’s assemblies. The sun shone and we began to get that summer feeling! Then the children presented a jam-packed assembly full of song, dance, music, storytelling, history and art with such confidence. It was wonderful to see so many grown ups there to watch a small snippet of what Class 3 have been up to. My thanks to Miss Jenkin, Mrs Parry and Mrs Meek for all your hard work and sharing your talents with the children.

World Book Day

What a wonderful day we had dressed up as our favourite book characters! It was such fun to see the children come through the school gates in their thoughtful and imaginative costumes! There are so many I could mention but I thought Talia coming as ‘The Lion, The Witch AND The Wardrobe’ was ingenious. Seb was fantastic as Gumdrop the car. He was a very impressive driver, even at such a young age! I loved our very own Demon Dentist, Poppy, who I found quite intimidating! Well done and thank you to all who went to the effort of creating a costume to celebrate World Book Day. I hope you enjoy spending your vouchers on some lovely new books! I quite liked the army boot look – I think it could catch on!

Thank you to Class 1 who came with me on a very exciting bear hunt! We did find a big one but we weren’t scared… (Well I was a bit!)

Don’t forget to look at the website to see photos of all the World Book day fun!

Our Football Superstars!

I couldn’t have been prouder when our football team played against St Catherine’s School at home. Even though we didn’t win, the energy, enthusiasm, perseverance and resilience of each of those boys (and Vicky) was awesome! Class 4 came down to watch the excitement and gave tremendous amounts of support for our team. Parents were great at shouting supportively from the sidelines and, well, I can only apologise for my yelling!

Thank you to Mr White for organising the football matches and supporting our team. There will be a little something for each of you in next week’s assembly!

Class 1 & 2 Daffodil Picking

What a wonderful day for picking daffodils it has been. Year 1 and 2 were in a flurry of excitement as they donned their wellies and headed over to collect daffodils with their teachers and classmates. Thank you to the Class 1 and 2 team for organising this and to Ruth for allowing us to pick her daffodils.

New School Governors

We are delighted to announce that we have 2 new Governors at Symondsbury. Our new Parent Governor is Terri Little and our new Authority Governor is Karen Ainley. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated and talented group of Governors who work tirelessly with our leadership team to ensure that the children of Symondsbury School get the very best!

Class 2 Outdoor Learning Space

We were very excited by the building of our outdoor learning space for Class 2 last week. There is still some work to be done before the grand opening but more importantly our Class 2 children and staff have become ‘Grand Designers’! The children and staff have been busy planning an exciting, enriching space for their learning and they came up with wonderful ideas. One idea was astro-turf on the ground and large outdoor cushions for a relaxing reading area; another idea was to have plenty of boards for writing and maths activities and a shop to sell mud pies!

Our sincere thanks to the Friends of Symondsbury School for providing such a wonderful canopy and outdoor space and to all the families and children who have helped raise the money to pay for the canopy by supporting Friend’s events. It just goes to prove that every jolly jar counts!!

Class 1 Attendance Treat to West Bay

This week Class 1 enjoyed a jolly time at the park in West Bay as a treat for winning the attendance award last term. A great time was had by all and was evident from the smiles on the children’s faces. A huge thanks to Mrs Wills, Miss Prentice and Miss Smith for organising such a lovely time. The photos on the website are wonderful – guaranteed to make you smile!

This week we have seen some new displays in our reception area at school. I asked all the children to give an example of something that they love about Symondsbury or that they have enjoyed this year and the comments were wonderful. As I don’t have enough room on the board for all of them – I just had to share some with you…

Connagh said, ‘I like going on loads of welly walks!’

Austyn said, ‘I love the book corner and the lovely books.’

Millie said, ‘I love PE because it makes me strong!’

Rosy said, ‘Maths tests are fun!’

Felix said, ‘The nature garden.’

Freddie said, ‘They organise brilliant school clubs.’

Izzy said ‘I love Symondsbury School because it includes all and makes me feel safe and comfortable.’

Alfie said, ‘I like Symondsbury because it’s an extension to my family!’

Thank you to all the children for all their comments… once again you amaze me!

Class 1 Forest School

Class 1 have been enjoying the great outdoors as they embarked on some Forest School work this week. They had a wonderful time, inspired by the story of the Gruffalo and built homes for the Mouse, the Owl and the Snake in the woods. My thanks to Mrs Wills and her team as they bring learning to life in our wonderful local setting.

Class 4 NSPCC Workshop

Class 4 WOWed me once again as they took part in a session delivered by a member of the NSPCC school team linked to keeping themselves safe. Their mature and sensible approach to the discussions and tasks was superb. I was very proud.

Class 3 Discovering Mayan Civilizations!

Class 3 have also been to our local wood playing the role of Mezo Americans discovering Mayan Civilisations! The children were experiencing, through pictures and artefacts and being out in the woods, what it would have been like in the Amazon Jungle! They used their senses to feel what it would have been like for those who discovered Mayan Civilisation and had a great time enjoying using an outdoor classroom. Again my thanks to Miss Jenkin and her team for organising such an amazing, inspiring opportunity for the children.

Our Wonderful Website

As with all of the exciting activities going on in school, please check out our school website to see pictures of all the things we have been getting up to at school. I have had many positive comments about the website but as with anything new – there is always room for tweaking! I am very interested in hearing your views and getting some feedback. Please check it out!

Our Remarkable Runners!

Once again, Symondsbury has come out on top with the girls winning first place in both the A and B teams in this year’s cross country run at Beaminster. Team A consisted of: Grace, Anise, Loveday and Rosa and in Team B were Daisy, Ellie, Mollie and Izzy. A special congratulations to Mollie who came 27th (and is our youngest runner) Loveday who came 3rd and Anise who came in an incredible 1st place! The boys also did us proud as they gave their all and came in impressive places. Alex came in 8th out of approximately 50-60 runners. So well done to all of our runners: Grace, Anise, Loveday, Rosa, Daisy, Ellie, Mollie, Izzy, Henry, Harry, Alex, Freddie, Bailey, Diesel, Zac and Joseph. We are all so very proud of you!

Northern Ballet Workshops – Classes 1 & 2

Classes 1 and 2 had a lovely time when a dancer from the Northern Ballet came into school to carry out a dance workshop based on their upcoming production of ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ at Yeovil Octagon Theatre on Tuesday 29th March. It was wonderful to see the children enjoy this special workshop – there seems to be some budding ballerinas in our midst too!

Class 3’s Mayan Morning

Class 3 have enjoyed a morning of Mayan Activities as they played games, investigated artefacts, looked at Mayan food and made their own Mystical Eye! My thanks to Miss Jenkin for organising such an exciting morning for the children!

Internet Safety Day – Classes 3 & 4

The Konflux Theatre company came along to work with class 3 and 4 yesterday and they made a play in a day to show the positive and negatives impacts of the internet. They looked at how to how to enjoy the internet sensibly, peer pressure and lots of ways of ensuring that they are kept safe including telling parents when they are going online.

This is incredibly important to us as a school as the times and technologies change so rapidly. Please keep those lines of communications open with your children so that you can keep a close eye on what they are accessing online and the personal information that they may be sharing. We also have a zero tolerance approach to any form of cyber-bullying and will deal with it with serious effect.

Chinese New Year Celebrations

The children have been inspired at Symondsbury with a huge range of Chinese themed activities including art, dance, music, cookery and storytelling to name a few as they celebrated Chinese New Year last month!

On Monday and Tuesday, groups worked with our artist in residence, Sue Warren and created the most beautiful dragon to play lead part in our Chinese New Year celebration parade. Children also made monkey masks as this is the Year of the Monkey and other lovely arty creations. The dragon had a hugely colourful head and tail which was connected by swathes of beautiful fabric which danced along with the children.

Wednesday brought a workshop where children learnt the dragon dance and used umbrellas and fans as part of dance and movement routines. A dancer from London came to work with the children and she was so impressed at their dancing skills and positive approach to the dancing. It was wonderful to see the awe and wonder as the whole school gathered in the hall to watch class 4 perform their dance.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, I visited classes and told them the story of the ‘Willow Tree Plate’. I was amazed at how many pupils have these at home…

On Thursday morning, parents joined us as children made their own Chinese New Year kites – they were decorated with beautiful drawings and everyone had great fun watching them fly! Thank you to all the parents who came along – I hope you had as much fun as we did.

The aroma of Chinese cooking wafted through the corridors on Friday as Mr Ford, one of our parents, came in to make delicious duck in pancakes with ingredients sourced from China Town itself! Mrs Wheeler, another parent, came in to work on some beautiful origami with the children – thank you to both for sharing your passion and talents with the children!

We finished our celebrations with a parade full of noise, colour, music and dance as the children shared their dragon dances and arty crafts with parents, families and the village as we paraded up to Symondsbury Estate and entertained everyone with more dancing before parading back to school. It was quite a sight to behold!

Thank you to all who got involved, to the staff for designing such wonderful, exciting learning experiences for the children; to the parents for being part of the fun and to the children who amazed us once again and have been inspired and engaged in an incredible week.

Class 3 & 4 Visit to the Electric Palace to watch Dick Whittington

Class 3 and 4 enjoyed a trip to the theatre to watch Dick Whittington. I am told they all had a wonderful time and a big thanks to the Friends who bought each child an interval ice cream – yummy! Well done to the children for your wonderful behaviour and for cheering on our very own Ellie who performed as part of the cast!

Quiz Night Fundraiser

Thank you so much to all who took part in the quiz night this term. It was a lovely evening with lots of laughter, some competitive bidding, some surprise bidding and lots of excitement from the winning team! The children made me very proud and Mr White did an amazing job once again as our host and quiz master extraordinaire!

A huge well done and thank you to all who have supported Ellie in her bid to raise money for prostate cancer as part of her mum’s efforts in running the London Marathon. Thank you to all who dressed in their own clothes, brought in £1 and made or bought cakes. You have managed to raise a grand total of £251. I am so proud of Ellie for supporting her mum and this very worthwhile charity. Empowering our pupils is a huge part of what we feel is important at Symondsbury. Together we can change our world.

Cross Country Stars!

Well done to all those fabulous children who took part in the Cross Country at Colfox. The girls did extremely well and won the team competition. Massive congratulations to Anise who won the competition (barely breaking out in a sweat!) and Loveday who came a well deserved second place! An amazing effort from all of our runners – As always I am completely in awe of each of you and we, as a school, are so proud of you. Well done to Izzy, Rosa, Ellie, Mollie, Daisy, Grace, Loveday, Anise, Alex, Bailey, Harry, Henry, Diesel, Joseph, Zac and Freddie.

Autumn Term 2015

There’s Something Amazing Going On!

There was indeed something amazing and wonderful going on as classes 2,3 and 4 performed their Christmas production of ‘There’s Something Amazing Going On!’ Audiences were wowed by the talent, energy and joy that the children brought to their roles. The dancing, singing and comedy moments really brought this special Christmas story to life. A very special thanks once again to all the staff who worked so hard to make this happen! Amazing!!

Choir singing at Bridport Christmas Cheer

Well done and thank you to all the pupils to came to sing as part of the Bridport Christmas Cheer. The children sang outside the United Church and at Bucky Doo Square as well as gathering with all local schools to sing extracts from traditional carols. Thank you to all the children who took part; and to parents for accompanying and supporting us. There was even snow! Thank you also to Mrs Bell for organising such a special event.

Colmers Hill Cluster Run

Congratulations to our fabulous runners who took part in the Colmers Hill Cluster Run. We were so proud of all our runners and it was wonderful to see the smiles on their faces as they ran the last leg of the course. An extra well done to our winners in the girls’ race – Loveday who came in first place and Anise who came in second place and the winning girls team – Loveday, Anise, Rosa and Izzy! Well done also to Alex who came in 4th out of all the boys!

Clothes Swap – A letter from Loveday and Izzy

This is Loveday and Izzy,

We just wanted to thank you for all your clothes and donations. We raised an amazing £153.02 for the refugees. A big thank you to Ellie and Saffron and all the others that helped. Finally the biggest thank you to Mrs Roberts who supported us through it all and made the day happen!

Thank you everyone!

Izzy and Loveday

Wessex Water

We were joined by Duncan Forbes from Wessex Water this week who presented us with a fantastic cheque for £350 towards a new pond for our garden area. Wessex Water were extremely impressed by a request put forward by children from gardening club explaining why they wanted a bigger pond. They were particularly impressed with the knowledge of various species that could thrive in such a pond and the persuasive nature of the presentation the children made. Well done to Miss J and Harry in Class 4 Can’t wait to see it all come together!

Remembrance

We were most proud of our pupils as they took part in our annual remembrance service. The children spoke with such thoughtfulness and obviously reflected on the importance of such as day. My thanks to the staff for all the work that has taken place in classes about remembrance. Class 3s version of ‘Abide with me’ at the memorial was very special. Thank you to all those who joined us, I hope you found it as moving and fitting as we did.

Launch of our New Reading Scheme

We will be launching our brand new reading scheme that we were able to buy thanks to the generous donation by the Rebecca Harris Memorial Fund following the Purple Walk last term.

The new books are ‘real books’ that are chosen to engage pupils and grown-ups alike in reading together. The books are ‘banded’ in abilities in the same way our current scheme is. Your child’s class teacher will be allocating new books following the launch next week. A selection of phonics based books will still remain as part of the scheme for those younger children but the aim of these books is to develop that love of reading that can open up new worlds for our children.

Class 4 visit to Colfox to watch ‘Oliver’

Children in class 4 were treated to a fantastic show performed by students from Colfox School. We had front row seats and were wowed by the talented singers, dancers and actors – it was a true inspiration for our pupils and lots of fun too!

Harvest Workshops

This week has seen a flurry of excitement and activity as all classes embark on their Harvest activities. The smells wafting through the corridors have been delicious as the children have made home-made soup, bread, butter and healthy fruit smoothies. It was an absolute pleasure to accompany class 1 as they walked up Colmers Hill to eat their delicious sandwiches with the bread and butter they made! With class 4’s ‘Dig For Victory’ approach to Harvest as part of their WWII topic, it really has allowed the children to be reflective and thankful for the wonderful gifts of Harvest we can share this year.

Pupils from Class3 Art Enrichment Day

A group of children from Class 3 were lucky enough to be part of an art enrichment day at Perrot Hill School. The children worked in the great outdoors and created a beautiful piece of artwork using natural resources in their outdoor surroundings. They created a ‘Sacred Autumn Pool’ then used the artwork as inspiration to put together a piece of drama telling the story of ‘The Priest’s Gift’. Well done to the pupils involved: Felix, Millie, Alex, Kitty, Emily and Amelia with a special congratulations to Alex who won the prize for outstanding contribution. Our very own pupils won the competition ahead of 6 other schools and we are extremely proud of them. Thank you so much to Ines Cavill and Vicky Ashford for accompanying and supporting the children on this special opportunity.

Class 1 Welly Walk

The children in class 1 were very excited as they headed out on their welly walk to Cymene Field. They told me they were going in search of creatures but they didn’t know which ones until they got there. They wore their wellies and high visibility jackets with pride and some of the children thought they looked like builders! What fun!

Congratulations to our Reception Pupils

It has been an absolute pleasure to watch our reception pupils become part of our Symondsbury family as they have joined us for lunch this week. The children have played with confidence and huge smiles as they get to know the older children. Their arrival has caused great excitement with our older children, especially those who are proud siblings! Watching them play so well, showing the younger children’ the ropes’ and being so thoughtful and patient with them has been a real privilege. Well done everyone!

Forest School

The boys in year 5 had a fabulous (if wet) time as they learnt first-hand what life would have been like as an evacuee in the second World War as part of their topic work in class 4. They built dens for shelter, a fire for warmth and had hot soup. This is part of a 6 week programme with our Forest School leader Jill Hooper. Mrs Wills and Jill will be working with other classes and groups of children as we take learning outdoors as part of our exciting Forest School work!